Roadway Express, Akron, OH, has reported net income of nearly $10.4 million for the first quarter ended March 25, 2000, up 31% from net income of $7.9 million in the first quarter
of 1999.
The motor carrier's first quarter revenue was $677.3 million, up 12% from $605.3 million for the same period in 1999.
Commenting on the quarter, Michael W. Wickham, chairman of the board of directors and Roadway ceo, said, "We are pleased to report continued, strong top line growth. We attribute this to the competitiveness of our core service, expansion of our regional offerings and customer acceptance of our specialty products. Additionally, we benefited from the favorable economic environment and industry capacity levels which have continued to support stable pricing. Increased use of equipment rentals and purchased transportation to handle our higher business volumes reflect our desire to control the levels of fixed costs in our network. The anticipated first quarter freight drought from a Y2K-based inventory build up in the fourth quarter of 1999 did not materialize.
Although January volume growth was comparatively soft, business levels showed positive comparisons throughout the quarter. We plan to continue controlling costs, managing our system to capacity and enhancing our yield by continually improving our freight mix."